Praying for genuine spiritual reformation in Nairobi
by preaching the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27)
Precept upon precept, line upon line...
Isaiah 28:10, 13

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

HEAR THE WORD, ACCEPT IT AND BEAR FRUIT

Mark 4:1-20

How many sermons have you heard in your life? Have
you changed accordingly? Yes, you may have heard, but are you sure you
listened? Have you produced fruit from the Word you have heard? Why should you
hear yet another sermon this morning? For a long time in my life I have always
found it difficult to understand why some people hear the gospel for the
umpteenth time, never respond to it, and yet others have never heard it even
once. You who are here are blessed and privileged, to hear the gospel again and
again. It is shocking that any of you should bear little fruit.

This parable is the key to the opening of all
parables. For this reason Mark starts with it. It is the greatest and the
most well-known parable. This parable needs application not exposition because
its words are very plain and clear.In
fact the Lord told them that if they did not understand this parable, they may
not even understand the other parables (v.13)!

Tell me, if you heard this parable for the first
time, would be able to understand what it was all about? The disciples did not
and I can tell you that I could not. Parables are like pictures, they have to
be accompanied by explanations. For this reason one may be hear a parable take
it that way and another this way – because they have to be explained.

In this parable the Lord also takes time to explain
the purpose of parables. This is the most shocking because it goes counter what
many people think was the reason why Christ used parables. Jesus used parables
to hide the truth from those who were not meant for the kingdom of God and He
proved this to the disciples by quoting Isaiah 6:9-10.

“To you has been giventhe secret of the kingdom of God, but forthose outside everything is in parables,so that “theymay
indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand,lest theyshould turn and be forgiven.”

The truth is that, regardless of the faithfulness of
the prophet or preacher or even Christ here, the hearers will always respond in
four different ways. We cannot guarantee a response just by the message, no
matter how faithful the preacher is.

The response to the gospel is fully dependent on God
and so the Lord explains that the twelve
and others around him, were given the secret of the kingdom of God (v.11).
We must never be pragmatic in our approach to the gospel because the results
are ordained by God. This is because many will respond to this passage by
blaming God that He has ordained it that there those who those who “indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed
hear but not understand,lest theyshould turn and be forgiven.”

But what this
means is that although they think they see, they do not see spiritual things
because they are spiritually blind. Although they hear, with their physical
eyes, they do not understand because they can’t. These things are spiritually
discerned:

The natural person does not accept the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them
because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14

We are not to suppose that our unbelieving sons or
husbands are the way they are because God left them… they are in the state of
sin because they left God, they have gone astray, to their own way.

We ought to pray for them that the Lord will be
merciful to them, to open up their eyes that they may see the wondrous things
in the gospel of Christ, from where there is the good news of free forgiveness
of sin and redemption by the blood of Christ.We must therefore be grateful that the Lord has revealed His gospel to
us and take heed.

From the
passage note the following:

1.The
propagation of the gospel by Christ and His appointed agents is constant.

2.Whenever
the gospel is preached, there are people who hear it

3.Sadly,
many people who hear it are not profited from it

4.There are
many agents that make sure that you do not profit from the gospel:

1)Satan

2)Emotion

3)Attitude

4)Time

5)Riches

6)The world

7)Ambitions

5.Those who
profit from it have the following characteristics:

·Have been given the secret of the kingdom of God

·They go back to Christ for insight &
understanding

·Have fertile hearts to the Word ofGod

·They grow and increase steadily

·Hear the word and accept it

·Yield fruit

Christ is gathering those who indeed belong to His
family, who are involved in the building of His kingdom. In doing so, He is
sovereignly discriminate, so that He may receive the highest glory, both in His
grace and mercy as well as in His holiness and justice. For this reason, we see
that in His grace and mercy He has chosen to reveal Himself to His people in
order to save them from their sins. In the same way He has hidden some these
things: Remember His prayer in Luke 10:21-22-24:

“I thank you, Father,Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these
things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little
children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have
been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son
is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and
anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then turning to the disciples he said privately, blessed
are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets
and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you
hear, and did not hear it.”

But you may ask, then why does God punish people for
not believing when He is the One who has revealed these to them? Who can resist
His will? Are sure you want to know the answer to this question? This is what
the Lord tells those creatures who are so daring to question His sovereignty
and wisdom:

But who are you, O man, to answer back to god? Will
what is moulded say to its moulder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the
potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for
honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God desiring to make
known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for
destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of
mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory – even us whom He has called,
not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Romans: 9:20-24

But clearly, while God is sovereign in salvation, He
is not responsible for your faulty listening since He has given two ears to
hear, two eyes to perceive, mind to understand and has made youin a manner that if you do not believe, you
have yourself to blame when you will find yourself in hell. You are responsible
for in attention, you are responsible for forgetting, you are responsible for
rejecting the truths of the gospel by ignoring. Surely, when you ignore the
word of God, and refuse to apply it in your life, you are rejecting the very
instructions that God has given you in order to be a beneficiary of His divine
mercy and grace.

When you don’t take heed, it is not because the Lord
told you so, it is because you have rejected the words of life. If a person
sinking in a swamp refused to got hold of a rope of

Christ gave four categories of hearers of the gospel:

1)Those hearers whose hearts are like paths – exposed
to the devil

As the gospel is propagated, there are many who hear
it. It may be from the pulpit in churches, like you are hearing now. It may be
from a faithful Christian friend or relative who testifies the gospel to
others. Or it may be through the mass media:

TV, radio, Internet, magazine it may be read in
books, there are thousands of ways through which one may hear the gospel. These
people must be given credit for they attend church, and listen to the preaching
of the gospel, however. Clearly, they don’t pay much attention, they don't seem
to care much about what is preached – it is just words, names and phrases. Why
do they go to the church then? Could it be that they go to church to show
themselves as respectable? Or is it because it is fashionable? Is it for the sake
of their family? Or is it a place to meet clients? Or could it be to meet with
friends, or relatives?

Whatever the reason why these people expose
themselves to hearing the word, Satan makes sure that they are not profited by
the Word of God. Just like the way seed by the pathway are picked up by the
birds of the air, Satan picks up the Word from the hearts of these people and
so are left as if they never heard anything. The devil loves companions to
escort him to eternal punishment and so die with him eternally.

The devil, as much as he is at work, is not solely to
blame for what happens in the hearts of these people. Clearly it is not the
bird that made the path! Neither is it the devil who hardened the hearts of
these people. Like pharaoh these people make their hearts hard and impervious
to the gospel.

You are responsible for making your heart hard and it
is you who reject the truths of the gospel. How do you make your heart hard? By
thinking of your business and of your job and family, when you ought to be
listening to the preaching of the Word. By slacking in attention to the word of
God. By being an arbitrary church attender – arriving the last and leaving the
first! By not exposing yourself to be examined by the gospel.

FOR HOW LONG WILL YOU REMAIN IN THIS TERRIBLE APATHY
TO THE GOSPEL? Change and live, for there is a way that seems good to a man but
only leads to the city of destruction. Turn to Christ and live.

This category of gospel hearers are marked by their
lack of depth. They are as shallow as the soil upon the rock. They are liquid
and shaky in their thinking. They are people given to emotion and instincts
rather than truth and faith. They enjoy hearing the preaching. They speak about
preaching with excitement and enthusiasm. They happily receive sermons and can
very easily be brought to tears by the appeal of preachers. They talk about
their feelings after the sermon.

But as you will soon discover, their hearts are
infested with stones, yes, they are stony and rocky. They are as impervious as
the first group because their feelings are paramount. They are the ones who
come to be tickled, to be moved in emotion. They go to church to enjoy. Sadly
there are many preachers who are primarily concerned about moving the emotion
of their hearers. They appeal to felt needs. They promise good feeling to those
who sit under their preaching. They have made the environment most comfortable
to their hearers by music, ambience and an appearance of godliness. “We are
seeker-sensitive,” they say. They don't mention sin or hell or blood and so
they render themselves useless. For if there is no sin, then there is no need
for a Saviour!

Having arrested feelings of their hearers and made
them most susceptible, they then exploit them to their own benefit. They demand
money from them promising all things in heaven and on earth – prosperity untold
and wealth and riches and health and all wishes. They make them to be followers
of men rather than followers of Christ.

As the smoke appears and it is gone like the dew of
the morning so are these people. These emotional people, as you will expect
will not and cannot persevere in times of difficult – their religion is only
skin deep. Their Christianity cannot hold in trials of time. Tribulation and
persecutions will make them to fall away (v.17). Their faith is only alive when
everything is smooth-sailing. They walk by sight and emotions and will soon
find that such faith is not faith at all, for it will wither and die out, with
nothing to show for it.

This must serve to warn you that, simply because you
enjoy hearing the word of God, because you take pleasure in the gospel is not a
mark that you have the grace of God. Simply because you come to TBC or listen
to Pastor Piper and Washer is not a mark of grace. That you go home saying how
blessed you have been is not sufficient. While sermons must elicit some emotion
it must never be emotion as an end it of itself, which is emotionalism.

More accurately, sermons must particularly elicit
action. While preachers may excite you, it must be that it is exciting you to
see the glory of a holy God and rejoice that He is your God. It must move you
to tears and sorrow for your sins, leading to repentance to Christ.

It must indeed cause you to praise the Lord for His
mercy and for His grace. But this emotion has to be an enduring emotion,
leading to a persevering action and culminating to a godly living. If all you
do is enjoy and not persevere then you are as good as the ground that did not
receive the gospel at all.

HOW DEEP IS YOUR FAITH? HOW DEEP IS YOUR
CHRISTIANITY? IS IT WITHERING RIGHT NOW? Call Christ for help.

3)Those hearers whose hearts are crowded with weeds –
overtaken by cares so that they don’t bear fruit

There are many others who hear the preaching of the
gospel and obey it to a certain point. They understand the word of God and
receive it. Their consciences are affected by the gospel and so they change
their ways to abide by the Word to certain point. These are men who adopt the
habits prescribed in the Word and abandon the conducts condemned in the gospel,
for a time. These may even be given places of leadership and will show
themselves to be making good spiritual progress, up to the point where everything
seem to be going well with them materially. They never go the full way – but
the crown belongs to those who persevere to the end… those who hold fast to the
finishing line. The downfall of this category of hearers comes from the world –
the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires of other
things enter in and choke the Word (v.19).

It is said that while poverty may have killed its
thousands, prosperity has killed its ten of thousands.

Most of us will concur with me, that we have made
better spiritual progress when were under difficulties and in trouble of life
than when are materially prosperous. I remember twelve years ago, when I was
invited to take beer by a friend, but said that I don’t drink because I am
saved, he retorted, “No, it is not because you are saved, it is because you
don’t have money yet, wait until you get money!” and he had evidence of a
person we both knew. I may not have money even right now but I still insist
that I don't drink because Christ is in me and I would not want to make Him
drunk! I’m sufficiently drunk with the Holy Spirit!

Now I want to ask you, ARE YOU AMONG THOSE WHO GO SO
FAR SPIRITUALLY AND YET NO FAR?

To see so much of the
glorious riches of Christ and yet not see at all?
To change so much in conduct and yet not permanently transform and conform to
Christ? Be warned that this is as good as those who never began.

4)Those hearers whose hearts are fertile, bearing
exceeding fruit.

There are also those who give attention to the Word
of God, they listen and obey it to the letter. They give themselves to obey it
thoroughly. Whether it is the law or the gospel they believe. Whether
instructions or doctrine they will heed. Whether indicatives or imperatives
they will apply to their Christian living. As a result they come to hate sin
and abhor it and so they flee sin, resist sin and are fully engaged in the
business of killing sin. They renounce sin, confess sin, and repent of all
their sins.

They truly come to trust in Christ and so depend on
him, trusting Him, submitting to Him, following Him day by day and every day,
following Him closely, serving Him with sincerity, patience, humility and
closely.

In them is the Holy Spirit at work, producing ripe
fruit in them. You will definitely know their religion by love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. They
crucify flesh with its passions and desires.

These people are steadfastly growing up in grace and
in godliness. They are increasing in fruitfulness. These are constantly making
effort to supplement their faith with virtue and to their virtue knowledge,

to their knowledge self-control and to their self-control
steadfastness and with steadfastness godliness and with godliness brotherly
affection and to their brotherly affection they are increasing in love for God
and for His people.

Because these qualities are theirs and are
increasing, they keep them from being ineffective or unfruitful in their
knowledge of Christ. For whoever who lacks in these qualities is so
short-sighted that he is blind. But with such effort one makes His calling and
election sure by practicing these qualities so that he does not fall.

They may have different degrees of fruitfulness but
the fruitfulness is certain and of the same kind – it is the fruit of the
Spirit. There those who yield thirtyfold and others sixtyfold and others
hundredfold. The secret is that they hear the word and accept it andbear fruit (v.20).
There will always be visible fruit by which they are known. There is always
repentance of sin, love of Christ and the spiritual things. There will always
be desire for growth in grace and knowledge of Christ. There is always an
apparent productivity in service of Christ in His church.

Whatever you might forget today, please remember
this:

There are three ways of hearing without benefit

There is only one way of hearing fruitfully.

What kind of
hearer are you? what kind of hearts do you receive the Word of God that is
constantly coming to you. This church has to be transformed into what we ought
to be in this city. We have to get hold of the purpose of God for us as church
and be fruitful in making Christ known, and trusted and loved and trusted. This
we must do by both word and deed so that Christ in us will be seen, the hope of
glory for all who are in Him.

1 comment:

Pastor Igweta, I did not see a way to email you directly so I will leave a comment here. It pleases me greatly to see this kind of expository ministry going on in Kenya. My family has been involved in ministry to Kenya for over 100 years (I was there only from 1978-1982 as a child - student at Rift Valley Academy - and have not been back since). It has been discouraging to hear now of the lack of well-trained Kenyan pastors and the rampant spread of the worst forms of Charismatic "Christianity". It is only through bold, clear, Biblically faithful preaching of God's Word that God's Kingdom will spread. That is heavy on my heart as I am now in training at The Master's Seminary to preach God's Word also. Thank you for what you are doing in Kenya. Grace and peace to you through Jesus Christ our Savior.Craig Barnett